Duke Energy’s history dates back to the early 1900s, and the
company is largest electric utility in the country today, serving approximately
7.5 million electric customers and 1.6 million gas customers across the
Southeast and Midwest regions of the U.S.
A blend of residential (33%), commercial (30%), industrial
(20%), and wholesale (17%) customers make up the company’s mix.
Regulated electric utilities account for 89% of Duke
Energy’s earnings, but the company also has a fast-growing gas infrastructure
and utilities business (8%) and a commercial portfolio of renewables (3%).
Management sold Duke Energy’s international energy business
(which was 5% of earnings) in 2016 to reduce the firm’s earnings volatility and
focus the company completely on its core domestic operations.
The company’s regulated utilities primarily rely on coal and
oil (34%), nuclear (34%), and natural gas (28%) for its generation of
electricity. Hydro and solar generate another 4% of the company’s total
fuel.Duke Energy continues investing in cleaner power generation (e.g. natural
gas), which has helped reduce its fuel mix of coal and oil from 61% in 2005 to
under 35% today.
Many utility companies are essentially government regulated
monopolies in the regions they operate in. Aside from in Ohio, all of Duke’s
electric utilities operate as sole suppliers within their service territories,
for example.
Power plants, transmission lines, and distribution networks
cost billions of dollars to build and maintain in order to supply customers
with power. Therefore, it isn’t economical to have more than one utility
supplier in most regions because the base of customers is only so big relative
to the investments required to provide them with electricity and gas.
Competition is further reduced by state utility commissions,
which have varying degrees of power over the companies allowed to construct
generating facilities.
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